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By Michele aka Ygraul Verdemorte |
Chapter 44. Clarity |
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bony awaked from her late afternoon nap to Lemony gently tapping her arm. Taking care of Pendaran had now become a community effort and when she needed a break, she slept in the little monk’s tent. “Master Sywno wishes you to come to his tent,” Lemony said. “Is something wrong? Is Pen alright?” “He’s… Pendaran is well,” she replied, indicating nothing had changed for the positive. Ebony could not shake the feeling she had failed Master Bei somehow. There had been plenty of warnings from both master and apprentice that Pendaran would be frail concerning the loss of someone dear to him but she had never imagined things would deteriorate to the extent that they had. He was not merely grieving, he was going insane. It was as if he were possessed. The symptoms were nearly identical. She bit her lip. Of course. Why had she not seen it before? But surely Master Bei would not allow his apprentice to stay possessed? By all accounts, he was more than capable of driving out demons. It could not be. “Is Xiang Yi back from Cantha?” she asked Lemony as she washed her face and dabbed herself dry with a towel. “He got back this morning.” She had seen the monk with Master Bei many times and knew them to be close friends. Rumors suggested Xiang Yi would be taking over leadership of his exiled guild and as a result he was heading the efforts to tie up any lose ends in his homeland. There were people close to the Crystal Palm he had felt needed protection and the monk had ushered a few more refugees to the island the evening before. If anyone knew the story behind Pendaran’s malady, he would. Ebony walked grimly toward the large gray tent that housed Dunvael’s leader. It was set aside from the others for privacy and there was a young ranger posted at its entrance. He stood aside as red cloaked members of the clan arrived and entered. Lemony walked beside her. The normally cheerful monk looked drawn and sad. The loss of Master Bei had been hard on her and she would not go back to visit Pendaran after his outburst. “Master Sywno is very sick,” Lemony said, “It must be something urgent if he has summoned us.” Once inside, she saw the Dunvael were gathered there and sat comfortably upon the oilcloth covered ground facing toward the back of the long tent. Wrapped in blankets, Sywno was perched there on a heavy high-backed chair carved from a darkly stained wood and embellished with a pair of immense antlers that loomed above him. His wise and gentle face was lined with strain as he watched them arrive. Morisedd sat at his left, head bowed like a penitent while Uriel and Teleri stood near the door, arms folded and faces grim. When all were assembled, the old ranger stamped his staff for order and the tent fell silent. “Three score years ago, my father stepped aside and gave me leadership of the Dunvael. On that day, he drew me aside and taught me the meaning of leadership. I will tell you now what he said. “The leader who rules by fear has no loyalty and must always watch his back. Seek no friends from those you lead, they look to you for an even hand and do not respect favoritism. Show your love instead with firmness and good reasoning and you will be followed. Put your people at ease by seeking their counsel and consensus, but when the decision is made for good or ill, abide by it and accept its consequences fully. In praise of good deeds, be generous. In seeking justice, be swift and merciful, even if it breaks your heart. Do not expect perfection from those you lead but strive for it in your own deeds and acknowledge your errors. “It is in this spirit that I name my successor. After much soul searching and discussions with my counsel, I name Brioc to guide the next generation of our ancient clan.” Ebony detected the confusion of the assembled rangers and glanced at Lemony as a murmur rippled through the gathering. “Murdi was thought to be the obvious choice. He is the eldest and Sywno appeared to be preparing him for the job,” Lemony whispered. “Before Brioc is prepared, I have a final request.” Sywno raised his hand and Morisedd rose to stand beside his chair. “Morisedd has agreed to do penance for wrongs committed against a brother. You will support him in serving with humility and in silence until the man he has wronged forgives him. If he mistreats his brother again, he will be declared dead to the Dunvael.” She had heard about the ranger’s cruelty to Pendaran that morning and had spent an hour working to calm the poor man in the aftermath of what had happened. Morisedd appeared uncharacteristically humble and she did not doubt Sywno had spoken some harsh words to him. Now the elderly ranger gestured for Morisedd to sit once more and folded his trembling hands upon his lap. His pallor was wan with exhaustion as he turned to address the gathering for the final time. “I offer the blessings of Melandru. Go in peace and may the gods gift you with abundant health and joy. Do not curse Grenth for taking those who depart in the proper season. It is to the death of Crystal Palm’s beloved leader that you should turn your ire. Honor me by acting as messengers of justice in pursuit of his murderer.” The Dunvael clan rose from the floor and went forward to bow before Sywno and kiss his palsied hands. Lemony took Ebony’s hand and guided her from the tent. Ebony reflected upon the mess that she had left behind in Elona and how foolish she had been to think she would settle down to a nice quiet teaching position in a far off land. That was not how things worked for her kind. “You think you would have figured that out by now?” she chided herself as they strode past the lines of tents and the gathering crowd around the mess tent. They stopped by briefly to check on Pendaran, finding him fast asleep by virtue of his afternoon dose of mandrake. He would wake soon and the usual attempts would be made to coax food past his lips. It was sad watching him waste slowly away. Lemony guided her to the bright flock of tents where many of the Crystal Palm had clustered together for comfort and companionship. They were still raw from their loss, not just of their leader but also of their home. Adapting to the new way of things had been difficult for many of the older servants and she saw many them huddled near their tents looking sad and confused. “Xiang Yi, are you there?” Lemony said outside of a tall blue pavilion barely large enough to house four people. “Come,” said the monk’s voice and they pressed through the cloth to find the monk before a makeshift desk of splintery planks and a simple folding chair snatched from the ruins of the guild compound. His fingers moved lightly over a brass abacus between sweeps of his brush over columns of numbers. He was no doubt tallying what remained of the guild’s wealth in preparation to requisition more supplies on their behalf and perhaps donate funds to the restoration of their new home. It was a logistical nightmare, Ebony imagined, trying to figure out how to suddenly clothe and feed all these homeless men, women and children. He gazed up at them, his face drawn with weariness and grief. Setting aside his brush, he rose and bowed to Ebony and Lemony. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked sweetly, genuinely pleased to see them. “I know this is an awkward question,” Ebony began, hoping she did not sound ridiculous, “Is Pendaran possessed?” Xiang Yi sighed and sat down, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Madame Starfall, I should have discussed this with you sooner. So much has happened in the last few days and it never occurred to me to check in on my master’s apprentice. I assumed he was in your care and I focused upon saving my guild…” “No need to apologize,” Ebony said, seeing the monk was becoming distraught. Xiang Yi smiled bitterly and nodded. “I knew nothing of this until the night my master was slain. He was always careful to shield us from his work, fearing if we knew too much of its perils and horrors we might abandon him or attempt to stop him. Always Master Bei wished to protect us but I fear he kept us at arms length so that we could not reciprocate. “I believe this all stems from what happened to Master Kai at the beginning of autumn. While dwelling in Kryta, he was struck down by assassins and was very badly injured. Were it not for Master Bei’s intervention, he would have died. Eventually, Master Kai was delivered into our care. Lemony and I prayed over him night and day but it soon became clear he would be scarred and crippled for life. For all that he had suffered, Master Kai was not bitter and we admired him for that. “Then, one day he was stricken by a demon. Following in the footsteps of his Master, he surrendered to the beast rather than risk harm to his loved ones. He was taken away from us and we do not fully know what he endured in that time save only that when he returned he was fully mended and there was no sign of the terrible injury. Indeed, he is blessed with excellent health. “This had long puzzled me and I mentioned my concerns to Master Bei. Of course he knew it was unnatural, but he told me he did not know the full truth of the matter and that Pendaran was afraid to tell him. Doubtless Master Bei suspected demonic intervention; it was his specialty, after all. However, it was not until the night of Master Bei’s death that I understood. “That night, the wounds that had nearly killed Master Kai returned to him, raw and bloody so that he moaned in pain and thrashed about. I did what I could to comfort him, but Master Bei knew the truth now and pronounced that the demon would let Pendaran die if he did not go to her. That is when I saw the creature at last. It takes the form of a pale woman and it cleaved to him, possessive and cruel. Master Bei was not prepared for this encounter and had not divined her true name. All he could do was bind her to a simple promise and bargain for Pendaran’s life. One hour at midnight each new moon is what she demanded, and when the bargain was sealed, she took Pendaran away in the form of a dolphin and we waited there for a cold hour praying that he would come back to us unharmed. “We did not fear for his flesh, of course. She restored his health before departing. I knew it would drive him mad, that whatever she planned for him would break a mortal man. Master Bei was beside himself with grief and concern. He blamed himself for not helping his apprentice before that moment. I am sad to say that I think his grief and weariness opened him to an attack. I do not doubt that if he had risen from bed the next day his first priority would have been Pendaran’s well being. “I should have told you this days ago if for no other reason than to honor my master. I apologize and I greatly regret any suffering that may have resulted.” Ebony pitied the man. He was clearly overwhelmed by both his personal loss and the amount of work required to hold his sundered guild together. His eyes gleamed with unshed tears and he bowed his bald head in supplication to her. “Thank you, Xiang Yi, your explanation has been a great help. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you in the coming days. I am sorry for the loss of your master.” “The gods seem cruel at times like this,” Xiang Yi replied quietly, “Master Bei was a good man and I mourn his loss. I pray that I will one day understand why he was taken from us.” They exchanged respectful nods and she departed with Lemony at her side. “Poor Pen,” the monk murmured. “Well, I may not know much, but I know demons,” Ebony said darkly in an attempt to comfort the little monk, “She has met her match in me, I guarantee you that.” |
